- Gloppy glue -- young children like to hold the glue bottle at least 12 inches above the paper they are going to glue something to and then squeeze like crazy. The result is glue oozing out everywhere. It takes twice as long to dry and what typically occurs is that when the child turns their project in, inevitably another child will place their paper on top of it, adhering both pieces of art together. I avoid this scene on simple cut and paste projects by allowing students to use glue sticks. However, for construction paper projects that require liquid Elmer's (don't get me started on the washable school glue) I go over with great detail the gluing procedures. First, place the tip of the glue bottle on the smaller paper that you are going to glue and then give a gentle squeeze. Trust the glue. It will stick as long as it has time to dry. More is not better.
- Chairs -- Push them in. Also, if the chair is orange it needs to be at the reading table. Brown chairs stay at the project table and blue chairs, well, of course they stay at student desks. I wouldn't have this problem if all the chairs matched, but that would just make my life easy.
- Pencils -- Don't bite 'em, flick 'em, roll 'em, or use them as a weapon. My biggest pet peeve involves the sharpening of pencils. I can appreciate a nice sharp pencil as much as anyone - granted, a lot of the problem lies with the lame-o low bid pencils that the district purchases. I think the lead in the barrel of the pencil is broken every two centimeters in every pencil ordered. Students are forced to get out of their seat and are in constant need of a new pencil. As soon as the pencil sharpener starts it's like Pavlov's Bell. Pencils begin to break, students start talking, and chaos ensues. All the while the student sharpening their pencil has ground it down to the tiniest nub which granted, is "cute" but not very efficient. I attempt to deal with my pencil sharpener issues by doing several things: each student gets two cushion grip mechanical pencils in addition to four newly sharpened regular pencils, at centers they get to use pens or markers, I have a can containing sharp pencils and a can containing dull pencils -- Take a pencil, leave a pencil policy. I also give every student their own pencil sharpener for emergencies. Thus creating my vacuum girls pet peeve, pencil shavings, for some reason they don't bother me.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Pet Peeves
Whenever I start a new year with my students I always let them in on a few of my pet peeves. I figure if I am upfront right from the beginning I can generally eliminate any Miss Garber's lost it and is going crazy scenes that tend to occur when students do these things. Here are my top three irritations, somewhat unique to me, in no particular order.
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Oh, the horrors of gloppy glue. Due to my limited stint as an in-class volunteer last year in charge of a glue&glitter project, I could cringe with you at every word. You will do great this year! You are an amazing teacher with incredible ability. I only wish my kids could have all my family members as teachers!
ReplyDeleteWhy, what completely rational pet peeves! I'm kind of relieved your list had nothing to do with kids named Finaeus or kids with Canadian accents or kids wearing light-up shoes or something. How disturbing that I thought your pet peeve would have to do with the kids themselves... I think I'd make an awful teacher for that very reason. ;)
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd had you for a teacher, because that stuff drove me crazy as a kid. Oohhhooohh- especially the mismatched chairs.. ::shiver::
Ah, I HATED pencil sharpening. I did the same thing with the dull pencils in container and sharp ones in another. However, the pencils are so cheap and pathetic that it was a pain to sharpen them. AND (I know, it doesn't go there in the sentence), the pencil sharpener was good for the first couple months, but then it started slowing down and dying. ARGH! I am right there with you on the pencil sharpening issue.
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence...those are my pet peeves too! Great minds think alike. I have to add a few to the list though. Tape picking--I've got the desks, helper wheels, and name tags all taped together with book tape, and wo be to the child who dares to pick at the tape. Also, I hate it when a child tests a crayon on my bookshelf or Reading Box to see if it is black or purple. This first week is critical to train the little ones about procedures (or pet peeves), but it usually just takes a little gasp by me, when I see gloppy glue or a tape picker in action to quiet the entire class to a deathly silence to see what the consequence will be.
ReplyDeletehaha!!! I have to say, your pet peeve about the chairs makes me think of a certain person (we'll just call her mom for short) and the plastic hangers!
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